The National tribune., 1887-08-18
ST. LoUIs's HISTORY.

ST. LOUIS's HISTORY.
st. Louis has an unusually interesting his
tory. Back in the 18th century, when the
Ministers of the sensual and worthless Louis
XIV were dreaming of and scheming for q
grand French Empire in North America, the
DirectOr-General of Louisiana gave q COM
pany of merchants the exclusive right of
trading with the Indians on the Missouri
River. After carefully surveying the coun-
try for the best site for their trading-p post,
they finally located it 20 miles below the
mouth of the Missouri, on the right bank of
the Mississippi, and named it st. Louis, in
compliment to their King. When the great
province of Louisiana fell from the nerveless
hands of the proaigate monarch into those
of the Spanish King, its French upbuilders
bad the modification of seeing their beloved
banner hauled down by company of Span
ish soldiers, who raised instead the flag of
Old CASTLE. The Spanish rule lasted
from 176S to 1900, when the French again
took possession, to the great joy of the old
traders and royayeurs But this was short
lived, for in 1903 Napoleon transferred the
whole of Louisiana to our Government in
order to keep it from being seized by the
British, and the French flag was again
hauled down to make room for the Star
Spangled Banner. There are old Frenchmen
in st. Louis who have bowed in allegiance
to all three flags.
The trading post began to be something
more than that after the Americans took
possession, for the West was filling up
rapidly, and in 1909 it was incorporated as a
town and began to boast of newspaper. In
1913 it had brick house, and in 1917
bank. In 1917 steamboats, began to ply on
the Western rivers, and thencefOrth the
progress of the town was rapid
AT the beginning of the war st. Louis had
a population of 100000. Her fur trade was
yet of great importance, and steamboats,
went every year to the highest navigable
points on the Missouri and the Yellowstone
to gather up the peltries which the agents
of the great Northwestern Fur Company col
lected from the Indians. She did an i'm
mense business in sending caravans of goods
overland on the "Santa Fe trail" now the
route of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
Railroad. Besides this were its growing
manufactures, its trade with the South in
sugar, cotton, tobacco and plantation sup
plies. A very large portion of her people
were connected with the South by family,
business and political ties, and so they SYM
pathized strongly with Secession. A
great majority of the people of the State,
especially of those living south of the Mis-
souri, River, felt the same way. The Kansas
troubles had made the feeling very bitter.
In 156O-'61 it seemed almost certain that
Missouri would follow South Carolina, but
she was saved this fate by the steadfast
courage and splendid patriotism of a minority
of her people, under those superb leaders,
Lyon and Blair.
Thescheme wasallripe in the Spring of 1861
to seize the great United States Arsenal, arm
the rebels from it, crush the Union men and
fasten the State firmly in the Confederate
column. The rebel Governor had ordered
the militia to go into camp near the arsenal,
and they were daily Joined by the enthusi-
astic Secessionists, who were armed with mus
kets taken from the arsenal at Liberty, No.,
and with cannon sent by JEFF Davis from the
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS at Baton Rouge, La. But
Gen. Lyon was too quick for them, and with
splendid audacity he moved upon the camp,
surrounded it and forced all in it to surren-
der. There was some fighting in the streets
of st. Louis, but the blow was decisive, and
from that time there was no doubt as to St
Louis's position. Every year during the
war the rebels made movement with the
object of capturing the city, but they never
got anywheres near it; and the last, led by
Sterling Price in 1864, met with crushing
defeat on the hanks of the little Blue River
at the hands of Rosecrans and Fleasanton. |
Since the war the growth of population
has been very rapid. The census of 1870
showed 310,S64 inhabitants, and in 1880
there were 350,518.
EX-PRISONERS OF WAR.
II has been decided to hold the annual |